Pre-death assessment

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but Jiang Liao himself has reached the fifth realm."

Xiao Bai replied, "Her team is very well-rounded, possessing all twelve categories of superpowers. If they all reach the fifth level... it's hard to imagine how strong they would be."

If all abilities reach the fifth level, then everyone in the team will also reach the fifth level.

That would definitely give them a chance to clash with the management of the pre-death assessment space.

"Only experts at the fifth realm can enter the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels."

Ling Wu smiled faintly, "Of course they will all reach the fifth realm."

"Really? You seem very confident in her?" Xiaobai looked at Ling Wu.

"Of course, my sister is the best!"

Jiang Luo continued, "Oh, by the way, he's my brother-in-law."

As he spoke, he pointed at Ling Wu.

Upon hearing this, Xiaobai's expression changed slightly.

So he and Jiang Liao are a couple?

This is interesting; the couple actually split into two teams to try out the challenge?

Why not go together?

"In this fourth level, have you seen the management of the pre-death assessment space?"

Ling Wu then asked.

"certainly!"

Ling Wu slowly said, "About two years ago, one of the Heavenly Stems, 'Gui,' arrived at this fourth level, and then inexplicably stayed here ever since, never leaving."

Those who are associated with Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the Heavenly Stems have the authority to travel through the pre-death assessment space.

Normally, their whereabouts are unpredictable; within the second to eighth levels of the pre-death assessment space, they can go wherever they want.

They didn't seem to have any fixed tasks; it seemed like they were all doing whatever they wanted.

However, two years ago, after one of the Heavenly Stems, "Gui," arrived here, it unexpectedly became the bell ringer of this fourth level.

That is, to strike the giant bell to signal the start of the hunt.

This task shouldn't have needed to be done by anyone; the hunting time clock could have rung on its own.

But for some reason, a manager has now been assigned to oversee this matter.

"He is the last of the ten Heavenly Stems, and we all call him Lao Gui."

Xiao Bai continued, "He didn't do anything while he was here. He didn't give us any special tasks, nor did he interfere with the other challengers' attempts. He just casually appeared in the fourth level of the pre-death assessment space, carrying the clock that controls the timing of the hunt."

"It sounds like... he's protecting that clock?"

Liu Ruyan then spoke up, "He doesn't want anyone else to take away the bell's power?"

Zhong, like the second and third layers, represents the seed of the Grim Reaper's clone.

After Lao Gui arrived at the fourth level, he took over the bell.

He must have known that someone would try to seize the power of the Death God's clone seed, so he personally protected it.

However, apart from Ling Wu, no one in the entire pre-death assessment space would have any designs on that bell.

Could it be that the other party came specifically to guard against Ling Wu?

That would be a bit troublesome.

If it's a head-on confrontation, even if Ling Wu and the others join forces, they probably wouldn't be a match for Tian Qian, right?

"Perhaps..."

Ling Wu simply smiled.

The fact that he came two years ago proves that he must have met Jiang Liao.

However, he did not stop Jiang Liao and the others; he was only responsible for ringing the bell.

Perhaps his purpose was indeed simply to protect the power of the Death God's clone seed.

Ling Wu continued, "Besides Lao Gui, are there any others at the moment?"

"There aren't any at the moment!"

Xiao Bai replied, "Of the Yin-Yang, Five Elements, and Heavenly Stems, only Old Gui is here; the rest are the top hunters."

The strength of a top-tier hunter is roughly equivalent to that of the most elite lords here.

Ling Wu nodded. So, if he wanted to obtain the power of the fourth level of clone seed, he had to find a way to deal with a Heavenly Stem.

And then there are the top hunters.

Before that, let's clear the level first and improve everyone's strength.

"As a lord, have you... killed a lord?" Ling Wu then asked.

Upon hearing this, Xiaobai's expression changed slightly again.

Lord...kill the lord?

Is such a thing even possible?

She certainly never did it.

Because in the subconscious of all lords, everyone is... a colleague.

Everyone's goal is the people who come here.

Creating fear and killing the enemy is the goal of all lords.

There is no rule that says a lord cannot kill another lord.

Ling Wu continued, "There's no rule that... the fear points that challengers need to collect must be collected from people."

Lords, too, are capable of fear.

Therefore, in addition to attacking people, those who attempt to clear the level can also attack the lord.

Even... if a lord wants to increase his strength, he may not necessarily need to kill people.

Killing the lord is the same!

"If a lord kills another lord, he can even obtain the power from that lord."

Ling Wu continued, "This matter was not made public simply to ensure that all lords were united against external threats and to prevent infighting."

Upon hearing this, Xiaobai was slightly startled.

Are there really such hidden rules?

I hadn't realized it all along.

Historically, if lords bumped into each other, they would usually pretend not to see each other and go about their own business.

You'll know once you try it.

Ling Wu smiled faintly, then stood up: "If you want the power of a certain lord, you can say so now, and we'll go with you... to kill him!"

They were all going to kill the lord anyway.

Having a female ghost lord who governs rules as an assistant certainly makes many things much simpler.

Moreover... it can also guarantee their safety.

"Are you sure... we want to do this?"

Xiaobai seemed a little hesitant, after all, she had never done something like this before.

She didn't know if doing this was against the rules, or if it would lead to mandatory management by the administration.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Ling Wu smiled faintly.

Xiao Bai then stood up and nodded slightly.

Okay, let's give it a try!

She would certainly be willing to try if she could become stronger.

"I know a lord who, like me, is a wanderer."

Xiao Bai continued, "He's a vampire bat demon who can fly. I want his power."

Upon hearing this, Ling Wu smiled and said, "Your pursuit is quite simple."

Do you just want to be able to fly?

"If I could fly, my hunting would be much easier."

Xiao Bai said, "And it's also much faster."

Normally, she hunts challengers on the ground.

He established his own domain and wandered around.

To put it bluntly, it's not much different from taking a chance.

"Alright, since he can fly, I'll come up with three rules to ensure that he's completely killed the moment he enters your domain."

Ling Wu then laughed.

Xiao Bai nodded gently.

He continued, "The rules established within my domain are limited; I cannot arbitrarily set them up however I please."

First, the rules cannot be used to directly kill.

For example, if the other party is public, you cannot say that public entities are not allowed within the domain.

This is tantamount to killing the other party directly, and such a rule cannot be customized.

Secondly, after implementing these three rules, it is essential to leave room for flexibility.

"Anyway, you only need to customize the rules. As long as the rules aren't revealed, the other party can only guess, which is a huge advantage!"

Ling Wu smiled and said, "Don't worry, that's enough."

Xiao Bai nodded slightly, and decided to cooperate with this mysterious guy who had appeared out of nowhere for the time being.

"Let's go find that lord. We'll go wherever you go, so we can stay within your territory and ensure our safety."

Ling Wu continued.

Little White nodded gently, then turned and floated forward.

Ling Wu and the others put on their shoes and followed...

……

Meanwhile, outside.

Nie Lei and the others were still waiting.

They waited for a long time, but there was no sign of Ling Wu and the others.

"It seems they don't have the capability?"

Nie Lei smiled and shook his head, then said, "That's true. As a newcomer, I accidentally wandered into that guy's territory, so of course I'm clueless."

Back then, his entire team only managed to figure out the female ghost's background by virtue of their large numbers.

That incident resulted in the deaths of several of their teammates.

Ling Wu and the others must have been just as bewildered as they were when they entered the domain.

Just then, as Nie Lei was thinking this...

Suddenly, the dark fog ahead began to move slowly.

"This... Boss, she moved."

All the teammates immediately perked up.

"I hope their bodies are still intact."

Nie Lei smiled coldly. A lord cannot obtain the abilities of a challenger by killing them; only the challenger can inherit those abilities.

Therefore, as long as Ling Wu and the others' bodies are still there, they can break open their chests and take the beads inside.

As Nie Lei and the others waited, Xiao Bai slowly moved forward, and that area also slowly moved into the distance.

Immediately afterwards, Nie Lei and the others rushed towards the subway station where Ling Wu and the others had just been.

However, when they arrived at the spot where Ling Wu and the others had been, they found no corpses.

Everyone searched the area, but they still couldn't find any bodies.

"Looks like they really had bad luck? They didn't even leave behind a single corpse?"

Nie Lei's teammates all shook their heads: "He died a mangled death."

Nie Lei narrowed his eyes slightly.

Something's not right!

He walked over to the campfire that Ling Wu and the others had lit earlier.

The campfire had long since gone out because of Xiaobai's territory, leaving only some charcoal ash.

"They were here when that guy's domain descended, but nothing was left behind."

Nie Lei continued, "They...are gone!"

As he spoke, he looked at the footprints on the ground.

These footprints stretched ever forward.

This proves that Ling Wu and the others did not die at all.

"Strange, how could such a thing happen?"

Nie Lei fell into deep thought for a moment.

The direction these footsteps were moving was the direction the female ghost had left in.

Why were those people able to survive after entering the female ghost's domain?

And he even left with that female ghost?

Was it the female ghost who took them away?

Why?

What is the purpose of a lord who is assessing a space before his death taking a group of challengers with him?

Shouldn't all lords share the same goal: to kill the challengers as much as possible?

"Let's follow them and see!"

Nie Lei continued.

He was genuinely curious about what was so special about that group of people.

He immediately led everyone, following the deep and shallow footprints, and tracked them all the way up...